This is the
launch report for
August 4, 2001.
This was an excellent day. A slight breeze away from the corn. Sometimes there was no breeze. A slight disruption by a helicopter which landed at the park a couple of times. If you followed the news, it crashed shortly after its departure from the park.
We had 18 fliers and 77 flights. It was a good day.
| Flier | Flights | Comments |
| Alex Balke | 5 | Alex flew a nice assortment of
rockets. His 3-2-1 Blast Off went up
on an A8. The Bumble Bee also flew on
an A8.
His Blue Streak went up on a B4. He had another flight with a B4. His White One went up on a C6. |
| Scott Brown | 6 | Scott had an interesting
day. His Big Bertha went on a
C6. The Super Big Bertha went up on an
E15. His pyramid RP-1 had a great
flight on a G38. Bubba went up on an
H128.
His newest rocket in a large flying saucer, the Flaming Lamp Shade. It went up on an I218. That's the redline fuel. Nice red flame. The only problem was that the red flame came out of both ends of the motor. A slight problem with blow-by. The flight was very stable on the way up. The ejection system didn't deploy. The rocket has enough drag and is built strong enough that there was no damage on landing. |
| Pete and Jordan Covell | 12 | Jordan's Skywinder flew nicely
on a C6. The wings deployed perfectly
for a good helicopter recovery. His
X-Wing and Tie-Fighter flew great on a C5
and C6.
Pete flew an assortment of rockets. Most of us have never seen a piston launched rocket. Pete did a couple of flights once again with his piston. If you want to get more power off the pad, see Pete and learn about piston launching. His small rockets really go. He put up Little Big Ear on a 1/2A and Big Little Ears on an A. They were great flights. His Big Bertha with a Shuttle glider was great. The glider is well trimmed. It takes for ever to get back to earth. Bertha's Revenge is a two-stager. A C6 to a C6. He also flew a staged Prowler. A C6 to a B6. We had some drag races with Star Wars rockets. when three of these rockets go up at once, it is spectacular. None of them flew exactly straight. This gets interesting and looks like a sky battle scene. Pete was also in a couple of Drag races with his Fat Boy on a C6. |
| Eric Fadely | 2 | Eric has a large
Mosquito. It is a %X upscale of the
Estes kit. Eric can put in different
motor mounts.
He flew it on a cluster of 2 -- D12s. Had a great flight. By changing the motor mount assembly he then flew it with a cluster of 6 -- C6s. His Sky Pirate went up with a cluster of 2 -- E30s. Great flights and a nice looking rocket. |
| Jeff, Joe, and John Koffel | 11 | Joe put up a Jinx on a
A3. Had a great flight.
John brought out his new rocket, the Missile Loader. He flew it three times. All "A" motors. He then put up his Firestreak on a C5. Jeff has missed the last couple of launches. He got back into the groove quickly. He has a rocket made out of a badminton shuttlecock named Birdie. He flew it on an A3. He flew his Nike Ajax on a C6. Then there was the Husky II on an E18. I wonder what happened to Husky I?? Moving up throught the alphabet. The G-force went up on a G64. Then came the high power. The Red, White, and Blue on a H242. That made some noise. His yellow Warlock went up on an I357. Some leaves fell off the trees. Glad to see the Koffel family back at the launch. |
| John Martin | 3 | John brought out his Nessie's
Revenge. Because of the yellow and
green paint job, and its desire to fly into
the corn, everyone has nicknamed it John
Deere. It is living up to its
nickname. This rocket flies on 5, yes
5, D12s. John proved that it also
flies on fewer than 5. He created a
new furrow for more corn to be planted.
John brought out his repaired Bomarc. This is a big rocket. A length of 54 inches. He put it up on a G80. It was a bit unstable and needs repairs again. |
| Daniel Mashburn | 3 | Daniel flew his Shockwave a couple of times. It went up on C6s. His Astrocam flew on a C6. I hope he got a good picture. |
| Tracy Phelps | 5 | Tracy put up his Mercury
Redstone and Super Nova on D12s. Great
flights. His Bull Pup also flew on a
D12.
His ACME X-32 with 3 -- D12s made a couple of appearances. It doesn't fly real straight and fast when only one motor ignites. |
| Lew Proudfoot | 4 | Lew had a good day. His
Astron Space Plane went up on an A3.
It took a beating.
His Cherokee flew on an A8. Lew flew just the top two stages of his Commanche. A B6 staging to an A8. Great flight with good recovery. He then decided to add the third stage. A D12 staging to B6 staging to an A8. Perfect staging and recovery. |
| Brian Sayles | 6 | Brian flew his Estes Moon Dog
on a A10. Great flight. His Fat
Boy went up on a C6. This was the
other half of the drag race with Pete.
Yes, it is possible to build and fly a model
rocket, with super glue, in a short while.
Brian's Naboo Cruiser went up on a C6. He also flew a Fat Boy on a D12. Brian has a rocket named "Knock Off Onyx." He put it up on a G33. It flew quite nicely. He had trouble finding it because a park visitor saw it come down and brought it back in his car while Brian was walking out there to find it. |
| Stephen Smark | 2 | Stephen put up his Estes Droid Fighter on C6s. He had great flights. This is a great looking rocket. |
| Sean Sousa | 1 | Sean only made one
flight. He was impressed as a
spectator and had to come back an fly.
He joined the NAR at the field and did his Level I certification flight. He has a LOC EZI-65 named Fusee. He flew it on an H180. It was a great flight. Straight up. It drifted quite a ways. Landed in the neighborhood beyond the road and trees. He bought more reloads even after his wife told him not to buy a bunch of stuff before she left. What high power rocketry will do to you. He'll pay for that. Congratulations Sean!! |
| Evan and Mike Verbeek | 11 | Evan put up his Condor on a
B6. Then the AIM-120 on a B6 followed
by a C6. Great flights. His
Spitfire flew on a C6.
Evan put up his Big Red on a D12. He has another AIM-120 which flew on 2-- D12s. Then there was the first flight of his Delta Two with 3 -- D12s. Good job. Mike had his new Onyx. First he tried it with a D12. That went well, so then it was with an E15. Great flight. Mike's Initiator went up on an E15 followed by a F20. |
| Don Wittenauer | 6 | Don flew his entire fleet of 4
Quest Micro Maxx rockets. These are
the smallest motors we flown at the
site. None of them got over 15 feet.
His Maverick went up on an A8 and the Silver Comet went up with a D12. |
The Smithfield Times, August 1, 2001, has an excellent article and photos of our launches. Jim Manner, the reporter, has visited a couple of our launches, taken photos, and talked with many of us. He presented us in an excellent manner.
It was a good day. Ken Allen of Performance Hobbies likes what we have. His sales are improving. I encourage everyone to buy from Ken. This is a vital asset to our success.
I also encourage everyone to join the NAR. This provides you with a great magazine and that all so important liability insurance. You must be a member of the NAR to be a member of SEVRA. You do not have to be a member of SEVRA to fly. We do encourage you to join SEVRA. We use the money to pay for NAR section dues and to buy launch equipment which isn't cheap.
You have to be a member of NAR to join SEVRA. You cannot fly high power (H motors and above) unless you join NAR.
Don:)~